Shruti Kunde TCS Research, Mumbai MTech vs PhD Shruti Kunde TCS Research, Mumbai

Agenda What does a PhD / Masters Program mean? Why a PhD ? When a PhD vs Masters ? What after PhD / Masters ?

What is a PhD ? A graduate degree that requires a significant amount of time. MTech ? A graduate degree that requires a significantly lesser amount of time compared to a PhD.

Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

By the time you finish elementary school you know a little http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

With a bachelor’s degree, you gain some specialty http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

A master’s degree deepens that specialty http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

Once you are at the boundary, you focus! http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

You push at the boundary for a few years, until the boundary gives away http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

And the dent that you’ve made, is the PhD http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

Of course, the world looks different to you now. http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

But don’t forget the big picture. http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/

PhD Extending this boundary of human knowledge gives you a number of other skills apart from the knowledge gained

MTech vs PhD Ability to work independently Critical Thought Ideas must originate from degree holder Degree not conferred till candidate is able to prove to experts Critical Thought Extending state of the art cannot be achieved without understanding the current state

MTech vs PhD Perseverance Ability to work with poorly defined goals Journey for getting the degree is long and arduous. Meaningfully extend the boundary of human knowledge. Ability to work with poorly defined goals May not have a clear goal May not have well defined tasks on a day to day basis.

Mtech vs PhD Cogency Science is as much an act of persuasion as it is an act of discovery. Ability to clearly and forcefully articulate ideas Persuade experts that you have made a legitimate and meaningful contribution Capability of writing compelling abstracts and introductions, motivating a particular problem

What after ? A masters degree equips you to come up with designs for complex engineering problems and potentially lead software engineering teams. A PhD degree equips you to do original research and potentially lead R&D teams.

When ? PhD Mtech Immediately after a Master’s Master’s degree with work experience Immediately after a Bachelor’s Bachelor’s degree with work experience Mtech

Why PhD ?

Thank you! Shruti.kunde@tcs.com